The Gist

Peach Fish Productions•www.mikepesca.com

For thirty minutes each day, Pesca challenges himself and his audience, in a responsibly provocative style, and gets beyond the rigidity and dogma. The Gist is surprising, reasonable, and willing to critique the left, the right, either party, or any idea.

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Episodes

Penn Swimmer's Success Costs School Millions 3 Years Later

This week we discussed high school musicians losing their opportunity to perform with the US Marine Band. And we revisit Mike's 2022 commentary on NCAA swimmer Lia Thomas, newly relevant as the Trump administration moves to defund University of Pennsylvania grants. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to Th...

Mar 22, 2025•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast

Joe Gatto Continues Messing with People

On today’s Gist, former Impractical Jokers star Joe Gatto joins to discuss his new stand-up special Messing With People and how he pulls off pranks that leave folks smiling, not steaming. Then, Mike breaks down why Disney’s Snow White remake may mark the end of an era where ideology outweighed audience. And in the Spiel, the U.S. retreats from Ukraine—not just militarily, but morally—while the cost of disengagement climbs. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on ...

Mar 21, 2025•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast

Not Even Mad: Anthony Weiner and Nick Gillespie

Former Congressman (and current NYC Council candidate) Anthony Weiner and Reason Editor-at-Large Nick Gillespie square off over whether the national debt is an true crisis, if Chuck Schumer made the best of a bad hand, and whether government can—or should—ever shrink. Plus, in Goat Grinders, we take on Walter Cronkite’s legacy, the absurd NCAA tournament gripes, and the myth of “wanting it more.” Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@adv...

Mar 20, 2025•1 hr 26 min•Transcript available on Metacast

The German Jew Who Tried The Nazis

In The Prosecutor: One Man's Battle to Bring Nazis to Justice, Jack Fairweather tells the story of a Jewish lawyer who fled the Nazis, only to return and put them on trial—despite resistance from the West German government. Plus, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, whom Trump calls a "Radical Left Lunatic," may not be so radical after all. And in the spiel, Mike unpacks a Washington Post “fact check” of Trump’s Voice of America cuts, revealing it as more rhetorical sleight of hand than rigorous ...

Mar 19, 2025•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast

Murdering the Truth and Defying the Courts

A federal judge ruled the Trump administration’s deportation flights to El Salvador unlawful—only for the administration to carry them out anyway. Now, Trump is calling for the judge’s impeachment, prompting Chief Justice John Roberts to push back against using impeachment as retaliation for judicial rulings. Plus, NYT journalist David Enrich joins to discuss Murder the Truth: Fear, the First Amendment, and a Secret Campaign to Protect the Powerful and his reflections on covering Brett Kavanaugh...

Mar 18, 2025•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast